Bladder diseases such as interstitial cystitis (IC) are intractable diseases presenting with symptoms such as chronic micturition and urinary urgency. However, since the cause of interstitial cystitis has yet to be determined, the treatment thereof is dependent upon symptomatic or empirical methods, and a definitive treatment has yet to be established despite various attempts.
In relation thereto, chondroitin sulfate (see, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,083,933 or International Journal of Pharmaceutics (Ohnishi, et al., Vol. 456, pp. 113-120, 2013)) and steroids (see, for example, Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Examination of Interstitial Cystitis (Society of Interstitial Cystitis of Japan, Guideline Preparation Committee, ed., Jan. 10, 2007) or American Urological Association (AUA) Guideline, DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT OF INTERSTITIAL CYSTITIS/BLADDER PAIN SYNDROME (September 2014)) have been reported to be able to be used as therapeutic agents for the bladder disease of interstitial cystitis. However, although chondroitin sulfate is expected to demonstrate repair effects on the deficient glycosaminoglycan layer, there is little evidence of its efficacy and guidelines recommend that it not be used. In addition, steroids are associated with considerable adverse side effects, there is little evidence for their efficacy, and there is no basis for their recommendation (see, for example, Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Examination of Interstitial Cystitis, Society of Interstitial Cystitis of Japan, Guideline Preparation Committee, ed., (Jan. 10, 2007)).
On the other hand, a compound obtained by bonding a group derived from a type of steroid in the form of prednisolone to a group derived from chondroitin sulfate via a glycine residue (referred to as chondroitin sulfate-glycyl-prednisolone) is known to have antiarthritic activity (see, for example, International Journal of Pharmaceutics (Ohnishi, et al., Vol. 456, pp. 113-120, 2013)).